Let’s look at the numbers… The typical sales recruiting process takes 3 months from launch to the day the new hire shows up for work. The average sales cycle is 30 days. The average deal size is $15k, with the average salesperson closing 3 deals/month.

Add it all up and… Our client opted to save $10k (the amount it would have taken for the candidate to accept the offer), while forfeiting $165,000 in potential revenue!

While no company should feel forced to pay above market, it would benefit every company to do a quick cost/benefit analysis to eliminate any emotionality (and penny pinching) from the hiring process and avoid cutting off its nose, to spite its face.